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Shrewsbury Town
Shrewsbury Town and Bristol Rovers have faced each other a total of 59 times in competitive football, with the better record belonging to Rovers thanks to their 28 wins to Shrewsbury's 17. The clubs met for the first time on 25 August 1951 in the old Third Division (South) in a game that ended in a 3–3 draw, and Shrewsbury also provided the opposition in the 2007 playoff final, when Rovers won promotion to League One. Games between these two teams played at Shrewsbury's home ground have become known as the Weetabix derby, thanks to the bizarre habit of Rovers fans of taking packets of Weetabix to the ground to throw at each other. The story behind this, possibly apocryphal, is that a Rovers fan who was somewhat the worse for wear for drink was sent to the local supermarket with £75 in his pocket to buy lunch for him and his friends. Not being in the most lucid state he brought back £75 worth of Weetabix. The group used the cereal to feed birds at the ground, but before long it had degenerated into a full-scale food fight. The next year the same group returned to the scene of the crime, again bearing Weetabix, and it soon became a tradition, though stewards at the ground now have strict instructions to confiscate breakfast cereals at the gate. Records *'Last meeting:' 14 February 2012 – Shrewsbury Town 1–0 Bristol Rovers *'Biggest win:' 21 March 1964 – Bristol Rovers 7–0 Shrewsbury Town *'Heaviest defeat:' 13 October 1962 – Shrewsbury Town 7–2 Bristol Rovers *'Highest aggregate score:' 13 October 1962 – Shrewsbury Town 7–2 Bristol Rovers Players at both clubs The list of players who have spent time on the books of both Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury Town includes: *Frankie Bennett had a loan spell at Shrewsbury before joining Rovers in 1996 *Scott Bevan played for Shrewsbury in 2008 before joining Rovers in 2011 *Liam Burns had very brief spells with Shrewsbury and Rovers in 2004 *Trevor Challis played for Shrewsbury during the 2004–05 season after having been released by Rovers in 2003 *Lance Cronin had a brief spell as a non-contract player with Shrewsbury in 2006 and later signed for Rovers in 2011 *Steve Cross started his career with Shrewsbury and ended it with Rovers *Jamie Cureton played for Rovers between 1996 and 2000 and had a loan spell with Shrewsbury in 2010 *Luke Daniels was loaned to both Shrewsbury and Rovers by West Bromwich Albion *Craig Disley joined Shrewsbury from Rovers in 2009 *Brian Gayle joined Shrewsbury from Rovers in 1997 *Ron Green joined Rovers from Shrewsbury in 1984 *Matt Harrold joined Rovers from Shrewsbury in 2011 *Matt Hayfield played two games for The Shrews after being released by Rovers in 1998 *Scott Howie joined Shrewsbury from Rovers in 2003 *Joe Jacobson joined Shrewsbury in 2011, after having been released by Rovers in 2009 *Glyn Jones *Stuart Nicholson was loaned to Rovers and Shrewsbury by West Bromwich Albion *Tim Parkin played for Rovers from 1981 until 1986 and had a loan spell at Shrewsbury in 1991 *Paul Petts joined Shewsbury from Rovers in 1980 *Steve Phillips was loaned to Shrewsbury by Rovers in 2009 *Carl Regan joined The Shrews after being released by Rovers in 2011 *Scott Shearer was loaned to Shrewsbury by Rovers during the 2006–07 season *Kevin Street joined Shrewsbury from Rovers in 2003 *Robbie Turner spent the 1986–87 season with Rovers and had a loan spell with Shrewsbury in 1993 *Richard Walker was loaned to Shrewsbury by Rovers for the whole of the 2008–09 season *Ernie Whatmore joined Rovers from Shrewsbury in 1923 *Devon White played for Rovers between 1987 and 1992 and ended his league career with Shrewsbury in 1999 *Brian Williams played for Rovers and Shrewsbury in the 1980s *Mark Wright was loaned to Shrewsbury by Rovers during the 2010–11 season, before signing a permanent deal with them in the January 2011 transfer window Past meetings A full list of all competitive meetings between Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury Town is given below. a Match played at Wembley Stadium * Category:Clubs